60,000 homes are blacked out as vandal fire causes huge power cut

Thousands of London families face having to cope without electricity until Thursday after vandals caused the capital's biggest blackout for years.

Up to 60,000 homes across a swathe of south-east London including Bexley, Orpington, Bromley, Dartford and Welling were left without power when a fire damaged four main electricity circuits.

Police said vandals started the fire on a cable bridge in Dartford just before 1pm yesterday and may have been trying to steal equipment.

Stuck: Francesca Coombs of Dartford

It is London's biggest power cut since August
2003, when 500,000 people lost their electricity.

Hundreds of shops across south-east London and north Kent were forced to close and commuters spoke of "incredibly frightening" conditions on the roads as traffic lights failed.

Street lights were dark last night and many residents were forced to leave their homes and find alternative accommodation until their electricity is restored.

Workers try to fix damaged lines

The London Fire Brigade received a number of calls from people trapped in lifts by the sudden power failure.

French-owned power company EDF said that "many thousands" of people could remain without power for more than 36 hours into tomorrow, as nearly100 workers struggle to fix the damaged lines.

But a source at the company said the four main lines that were damaged will take about two days to repair and some homes could be withoutelectricity until Thursday.

A spokesman for EDF said: "Our priority is restoring customer supplies as quickly as is safely possible.

Alan Crouch cooks on makeshift BBQ

"However, this is a complex and difficult situation and the bridge needs to be safe enough for our engineers to carry out repairs and then lay and join new cables to the network.

"We expect this work to take at least 24 to 36 hours, maybe longer, although we will try to restore supplies to as many customers as we can, as soon as possible."

EDF said it will provide back-up generators in key areas and said that some places have had their power restored.

Police have also announced additional patrols in the affected areas, in a bid to maintain calm while the blackout continues.

A Kent police spokesman said they are investigating the possibility of theft or criminal damage in connection with the fire. No arrests have been made.

The spokesman said: "The picture is coming clearer with each passing hour, but it's likely the result of young children mucking about, or cable theft."

Case study Residents hit by the blackout spoke of their anger today. Many sought refuge in the homes of families and friends. Francesca Coombs, a 25-year-old lecturer, and her grandmother Diane Gregory spent the evening collecting candles to give to their neighbours.

Ms Coombs, of Dartford, said: "I work from home using a computer and I'm completely stuck now.We're going to have to go to my mum's house to eat and have baths. I hope this doesn't last much longer. Old people are really going to suffer. It has been terrible."

Ms Gregory said driving home was dangerousbecause all the traffic lights in the area are out. She said: "Driving was frightening. The roads were completely black. I can't believe theycould let such a huge area be affected. How could there be no back-up system?"

Sophie Penfold, 19, and student Alice Howarth, 19, lit candles at home in Bexleyheath. Miss Howarth said: "Parts of the area are like a ghost town. I don't know what we'll do if it carries on much longer. I haven't been able to wash."

Alan Crouch, 46, a finance assistant from Dartford, lit a barbecue outside his houseon an upturned trolley as he tried to cook the food thawing in his freezer.

He said: "I've heard it could last four days. A lot of people are very angry the power company hasn't made any attempt to let us know what is going on."